Descriptif

The theme:

The thematic aim of this course is to look at many aspects of the plant and animal kingdom and how the human world interacts with it:

• our fears, fascination and fantasies
• poaching and the wildlife trade, conservation and tourism
• modern agricultural practices and human utilisation of animals
• the wonders and oddities of the natural world, such as camouflage and symbiotic relationships
• animal intelligence and behaviour
• biomimicry: how scientists try to create nature-inspired solutions to complex human challenges

Language skills:

First and foremost a language course, all students are expected to participate actively.  Your ideas for class content will be welcome. Everyone will be expected to find and present interesting aspects of the subject to the class. 

Speaking: discussions, debates and oral presentations (with slides)

Oral comprehension: listening to audio recordings and watching documentary and film extracts

Reading: press articles and online research, as well as vocabulary acquisition

Writing: written assignments:  factual or opinion pieces

In the words of the English poet, William Wordsworth « Let Nature be your teacher »